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AI Buildout Hits Power Wall as OpenAI Clarifies Financing and White House Rejects Bailouts

Power shortages now throttle deployment, reshaping financing and investor priorities.

Overview

  • Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said the binding constraint is electricity and ready data‑center shells, with GPUs sitting idle because there are no powered facilities to plug them into.
  • Tech giants are on pace to spend roughly $370–$400 billion on AI infrastructure in 2025, with growing use of SPVs and debt as utilities seek large rate increases and grid capacity lags.
  • OpenAI CFO Sarah Friar clarified that the company is not seeking a government backstop after earlier remarks about potential federal guarantees, and she said an IPO is not planned now.
  • The White House AI czar David Sacks stated there will be no federal bailout for AI companies, while signaling support for faster permitting and new power generation.
  • Investors are shifting focus from headline partnerships to near‑term revenue and deployable capacity, as warnings of an AI bubble grow and some facilities risk being built without sufficient power.